Don't Write Off FANG: Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap (Wednesday 10/31/18)

Even when the FANG stocks mess up, they're still incredible companies, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers Wednesday. The real question is, how high can their stocks go when they start making a comeback?

Cramer said that after several price target cuts, Facebook (FB) is still the only game in town if you want to market to millennials. That's why the stock closed up 3.8%, despite the negativity surrounding it.

Shares of Amazon (AMZN) have fallen from $2,000 to just $1,600 on many fears, including competition from IBM (IBM) after the Red Hat (RHT) acquisition; competition from Walmart (WMT) , which now pays its workers less than Amazon's new minimum wage; and yes, the company's earnings, which missed on revenue by a penny. Cramer said he's not worried about any of these issues.

Netflix (NFLX) reported a fabulous quarter but sold off anyway. That means investors can buy the stock and get the last quarter's results for free, and then some.

Finally, there's Alphabet (GOOGL) , which did miss on both earnings and revenues, but is still incredibly attractive. Cramer said the company is only now beginning to monetize Waymo, and there's a lot more growth ahead.

What do all of these stocks have in common? Just their FANG acronym, which Cramer now says he wishes he'd never coined in the first place. Now that ETFs have tied these four stocks together, they trade in lock-step, even though they're all fabulous in their own ways.

Executive Decision: Clorox

For his "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer spoke with Benno Dorer, chairman and CEO of Clorox (CLX) , which just reported mixed quarterly results, news that sent shares lower by 2.8% on the day.

Dorer said Clorox continues to execute well and their brand portfolio remains strong. The company grew 4% last fiscal year and only charcoal and supplements are areas of concern at the moment.

When asked about the supplement category, Dorer explained that Renew Life saw some irregular ordering patterns from major customers this quarter, something that is normal for supplements, but new to their forecasting. Clorox remains committed to growing Renew Life however, and will have product innovations, new packaging and a renewed focus on value to help bring in customers.

Turning to the issues of logistics, Dorer said the U.S. lacks 50,000 truck drivers at the moment, which means there are seven loads for every one truck that need to be shipped. This ratio is about twice the normal level, but Clorox continues to mitigate these problems.

Finally, when asked about tariffs, Dorer reminded viewers that Clorox is a U.S. company and most of their items are made right here. Tariffs are not a big deal for Clorox, he said.

Executive Decision: Wingstop

In his second "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer also sat down with Charlie Morrison, chairman and CEO of Wingstop (WING) , the restaurant chain that recently posted a top- and bottom-line beat with a 6.3% increase in same-store sales.

Morrison said Wingstop has seen positive same-store sales for 14 years in a row and are working toward completing their 15th year. The company has also consistently delivered between 10% to 12% store count growth annually.

Wingstop's franchisees love the company's $1.1 million average unit sales, which represents a 3-to-1 ratio of sales to investment. In fact, most of the company's new franchises are with existing franchisees.

Morrison was also quick to note that 25% of sales are now digital and Wingstop is rolling out delivery in select markets while also expanding internationally, where they currently have 130 locations.

Lastly, Morrison noted that Wingstop has always been shareholder friendly, and is no stranger to special dividends for shareholders.

Executive Decision: American Electric Power

In a third "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer checked back in with Nick Akins, chairman and chairman, president and CEO of American Electric Power (AEP) , the utility with a recession-proof 3.6% dividend yield.

Akins said AEP has a solid plan to grow earnings 5% to 7% for the foreseeable future, and their 8.1% dividend increase is a sign of confidence in their business.

When asked for his read on the economy, Akins said this quarter they did see some slowing in the growth of residential and commercial applications. He attributed the weakness to a strong dollar and tariffs starting to take hold.

Turning to his company's generation business, Akins said he doesn't see a return to coal-based power plants. He said utilities are broadening their investments to include natural gas, as well as renewable sources and also their transmission infrastructure. The grid will need investments to support the growing tide of renewable sources, he said.

Cramer said he remains a buyer of American Electric Power.

No-Huddle Offense

In his "No Huddle Offense" segment, Cramer said when a company reports bad numbers, and the stock rallies, that's when you need to sit up and take notice. That's what happened yesterday with Masco (MAS) , the kitchen and bath fixture maker, which rallied over 7% after slashing their full-year guidance.

Cramer said Masco reached an inflection point this week, one where the bad news of rising costs, tariffs, rising interest rates and a slowing housing market are all baked into the share price.

Masco is a well-run company, but was one of the worst performing stocks going into the quarter as investors lumped it in with a slowing housing market. But Masco told a different story. Commodity costs have peaked and the remodeling business remains strong thanks to the strong jobs market. Tariffs, the company said, aren't a factor, and account for less than rising commodities.